Clark

'Totems Flare' out on Warp on 13/07/2009

Clark is seen by many as the most “WARP-ish” of the current generation of WARP artists, and certainly when his career was launched with 'Clarence Park', his sound fitted neatly into the progressively-structured, melodic style of tracks that WARP had cultivated since the early 90s, albeit perhaps in a more haphazard form. But the fierce work ethic that Chris describes, and his refusal to sit still meant his sound moved on in leaps and bounds – 2006's 'Body Riddle' in particular marking such a quantum leap that Clark's music could no longer be heard except on its own terms. Without losing touch with his roots, 'Body Riddle' was the realisation of Clark's identity as an artist and the consolidation of his next level production skills; this was impossible to ignore, and global sales reflected its artistic success, particularly in Japan, where Chris is something of a star, topping the itunes electronic charts in March 2009.

That album and the two which followed – which Chris sees as forming a “trilogy” - have seen a steady and clear progression, from the baroque melodics of 'Body Riddle' through the hard dancefloor drive of 'Turning Dragon' (an album he says is as inspired by Ed Banger records as much as by the more obviously credible techno of Cristian Vogel, Neil Landstrumm and Jeff Mills) to 'Totems Flare', which combines the key qualities of both into yet another huge leap forward. The increase in ambition, scale and panache of 'Totems Flare' is as big as that which 'Body Riddle' represented, and early reactions suggest the worldwide commercial response could be at least as significant. And, vitally, this further leap forward came naturally.

Contact > sam{at}littlebig.org.uk

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